Under picture perfect skies, the Division Avenue High School (DAHS) Blue Dragons (2-0) celebrated their homecoming Saturday, Sept. 17 with a 28-0 shutout of Glen Cove (0-2).
The undefeated Blue Dragons, which have already won twice as many games as last year’s team, opened up a 14-0 lead by the midway point of the second quarter with a six-yard run to the end zone by senior fullback Joe Vanasco (18 carries for 146 yards).
“I just found some openings and broke through,” Vanasco said of his performance. Division pulled out to a 21-0 advantage with 48 seconds remaining in the first half when senior Dylan Cardno connected on a 16-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Jon Maldonado.
Division’s trademark ground-and-pound offense led to 218 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, including a 41-yard touchdown run from Vanasco in the first quarter. Senior Jon Muller rushed for 41 yards and sealed the win with a 1-yard quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter.
“It was so important for us to win this game,” said Division senior quarterback John Muller. “We lost our last two homecoming games, so this win gave our fans a chance to really get behind us. The homecoming experience was great overall, but we just tuned out the festivities and focused on the game itself. Our biggest key to winning was our defense. We didn’t let up one first down until the third quarter, and that was a huge part of earning the shutout victory.”
At halftime, it was announced that Angel Cruz and Susan Ballantyne were voted Homecoming King and Queen, while Shane McLaughlin and Jasmine Blennau earned the nods for Homecoming Prince and Princess.
“The whole experience was really amazing,” said Ballantyne. “It feels great knowing that my classmates voted for me to be Homecoming Queen. Also, the football game was really exciting and the team this year is doing great so far. I’m looking forward to seeing more games.”
While the Blue Dragons celebrated their victory on the field, students from Division’s Class of 2012 remembered to cherish the memories that the day would bring.
“Homecoming is always amazing because the whole school and community comes together to celebrate,” said Division cheerleader Jenna Rothar. “It’s even more of an awesome experience as a senior. Since it’s my last year in the school, I have to savor the moment because it’s my last homecoming as a student here.”
